Continuous casting plant

ABSTRACT

In a continuous casting plant the casting mold or molds are mounted at a casting station on a platform in a casting shop adjacent to a side shop. The platform extends into the side shop, and tundishes are transported on curved tracks from the side shop where they may be repaired or heated to the casting station in the casting shop. The ladle crane in the casting shop can, therefore, be used exclusively for transporting the heavy ladle to and from the casting station, and the tundishes can be moved by other means including a separate crane.

United States Patent [191 Willim et a1.

[ Jan. 1,1974

[ CONTINUOUS CASTING PLANT [75] Inventors: Fritz Willim, Birmensdorf,

Switzerland; Hans-Dieter Schulz, Dusseldorf; Hans Otto Thorner, Erhrath, both of Germany [73] Assignees: Concast AG, Zurich, Switzerland;

Schloemann Aktiengesellschaft, Dusseldorf, Germany [22] Filed: Apr. 7, 1971 [2]] Appl. No.: 132,109

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Apr. 7, 1970 Germany .1 P 20 16 435.6

[52] US. Cl. 164/281, 266/13 [51] Int. Cl B22d 11/10 [58] Field of Search 164/82, 273 R, 281; 266/13 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,273,208 9/1966 Greenberger 164/281 10/1967 Beemer 164/281 3,446,269 5/1969 Buschmann et al. 164/281 3,536,125 10/1970 Blasko et al. 266/13 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 2,022,006 11/1970 Germany 164/281 Primary Examiner-R. Spencer Annear Att0meySandoe, Hopgood & Calimafde [5 7 ABSTRACT In a continuous casting plant the casting mold or molds are mounted at a casting station on a platform in a casting shop adjacent to a side shop. The platform extends into the side shop, and tundishes are transported on curved tracks from the side shop where they may be repaired or heated to the casting station in the casting shop. The ladle crane in the casting shop can, therefore, be used exclusively for transporting the heavy ladle to and from the casting station, and the tundishes can be moved by other means including a separate crane.

11 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEU JAN 7 SHEET 1 [IF 5 FIG! FIGZ

INVENTORS FRITZ WILLIM HANS- DIETER gcH BY HANSOTTO TH RN R ATTORNEYS PATENTED N Him 3' 782. 447

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INVENTORS FRITZ WILLIM HANS- DIETER scHu BY HANS OTTOTHO'RNER m'ronnsvs CONTINUOUS CASTING PLANT This invention relates to the arrangement of the tundish heating stations and'to the tracks for the tundish cars in continuous casting plants. For conveying the tundish between the heating station and the mold use is made of tundish cars. These reduce the work that has to be done by the overhead travelling crane, and they also support the tundish in pouring position as well as when it is being preheated. In order to enable tundishes to be replaced as quickly as possible one continuous casting plant known in the art avails itself of two tundish cars. The cars can be moved on tracks to heating stations located on each side of the mold.

Worn tundishes are usually conveyed by a crane to a station where they are reconditioned for further use. This is open to the objection that the overhead travelling crane already has sufficient work to do in handling the ladles. Particularly inplants which comprise several continuous casting machines placed side-by-side the travelling crane ceases to be available for also handling the tundishes. In some arrangements the tundish reconditioning department is located in a side shop. Since the travelling crane cannot convey loads from one building to another, so-called transfer cars are used for this purpose. Another drawback of locating heating stations laterally alongside the mold is that when several continuous casting machines are placed side by side the space available for the heating stations on each side of the mold is insufficient.

It has been proposed heretofore to locate the heating stations in front of or behind the mold and to connect them to the mold by straight-line tracks for the tundish cars. When this is done no space is taken up on the sides of the mold. However, at least one of the tundishes must still be conveyed by the travelling crane and then on a transfer car to the tundish reconditioning station. It is also likely that the ladle car and the tundish cars will interfere with each other on the side of the mold which is on the outside of the continuous casting arc.

An object'of the present invention is, therefore, to provide an arrangement of the heating stations and the track for the tundish cars between the molds and the heating stations, so contrived that neither the overhead travelling crane for handling the ladles nor a supplementary transfer car for conveying tundishes from the heating stations to the reconditioning stations need be used for handling the tundishes. According to the invention this object is achieved by the provision of tracks extending with a change in direction from the mold to heating stations that are located in an adjacent building. In such an arrangement the ladle crane is no longer required to handle the tundishes. A transfer car is also redundant. In the further development of this concept the tracks may extend from the ends of the mold in a curve to heating stations placed in opposed juxtaposition. However, in an alternative arrangement the tracks may extend from the side of the mold which forms the inside of the continuous casting arc in curves to the heating stations that are placed in opposed juxtaposition.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment each tundish car may be attached to a swing arm pivoted at the center of the circle in which the tundish car moves, the wheels of the tundish car running on the flat surface of the casting platform. This eliminates the need for rails to guide the tundish car, while the power for its motor may be conducted through the swing arm.

According to another feature of the invention the tracks may divide at the mold and extend to separate heating stations placed closely side by side. Such arrangements of the heating stations take up little space in width. Hence it is possible to erect several continuous casting machines in close lateral adjacence.

In another convenient arrangement according to the invention the tracks may extend in curves from the mold to heating stations that are placed closely side by side at an angle. This disposition also takes up little space. The change in direction of the tracks is confined to a minimum, since the radius can be made large. Friction on the rails is thereby reduced.

A switch for the tracks can be omitted if according to another feature of the invention the tracks for the two tundish cars are closely adjacent at the mold but still separate. The provision of crossing rails on the inside can be dispensed with and the corresponding wheels of the tundish cars arranged to roll on the flat surface of the casting platform, whereas the outside rails are for the reception of flanged wheels on the cars. .Iolting of the travelling tundish cars can thus be avoided.

In order to ensure that each tundish arrives in the same position for casting, despite the separation of the two tracks, the wheels of the tundish cars may be axially asymmetrically offset by the distance a between the two tracks at the mold.

Allowance can also be made for the presence of this difference a between the locations of the tracks by differently mounting the tundishes on the cars.

Several embodiments of the invention are illustratively shown in the drawing, in which,

FIGS. 1 and 2 are a side elevation and a plan view, respectively, of a continuous casting machine comprising tracks extending in a curve from each end of the mold.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are a side elevation and a plan view, respectively, of a continuous casting machine comprising tracks extending in curves from the side of the mold which is on the inside of the continuous casting arc.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are a side elevation and a plan view, respectively, of the tundish car used in FIGS. 3 and 4, shown on a larger scale.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are a side elevation and a plan view, respectively, of a continuous casting machine comprising tundish heating stations disposed in parallel side by side, and

FIGS. 9 and 10 are a side elevation and a plan view, respectively, of the molds and the tundish cars of a continuous casting machine comprising tracks extending in curves from the mold to the heating stations that are placed side by side at an angle.

The drawings show a casting shop 1 and adjacent thereto a side shop 2. In the casting shop I is a casting platform 3 which extends into the side shop 2. The casting shop I is equipped with a ladle crane 4. The side shop 2 is likewise provided with a travelling crane 5.

The casting platform 3 carries molds 6 from which continuous castings 7 are guided into the horizontal in arc type guideways (not shown). A ladle car 8 carrying a ladle 9 is arranged to be moved into position above the molds 6.

In the continuous casting machine shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 rail tracks 10 for tundish cars 1 l are disposed on both ends of the molds 6. The tundish cars 11 are adapted to support a tundish 12 above the molds 6 during casting.

The rail tracks extend from each end of the molds 6 in a curve to heating stationsv 13 and 14 which are located on the casting platform 3 in the side shop 2.

The tundishes are changed by first conveying a fresh tundish 12 by means of the crane 5 from the station 15 where the tundishes are reconditioned to a tundish car 11 waiting at the heating station 13 where the fresh tundish is placed on the car. As soon as the tundish 12 has been sufficiently preheated, the other tundish 12 above the molds 6 is moved by its car 11 to the heating station 14 and at the same time the car which carries the fresh tundish is moved into position above the molds. This change-over can be quickly effected without using the ladle crane 4, even for sequence continuous casting. The crane 5 then takes the worn tundish 12 back to the tundish reconditioning station 15.

in the installation illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawing, tracks for tundish cars 21 and 22 extend from the sides of the molds 6 which are on the inside of the casting arc in curves to two heating stations 23 and 24. Each of the tundish cars is additionally guided by a swing arm 25 reespectively 26 which pivots about a pivot 27. In this embodiment the tundishes 28 and 29 can also be quickly replaced without using the ladle crane 4. The transport of the tundishes between the heating stations 23 and 24 and the tundish reconditioning station 15 is again handled by the crane Sin the side shop 2.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a tundish car 21 on a larger scale. This comprises two trucks 30 and a high level connecting cross member 31. The swing arm 25 likewise swings at the high level and is attached to the cross member 31. This arrangement gives the mold operator unobstructed access to the molds 6. The trucks 30 of the car 21 are provided with driven wheels 32 which are mounted at an angle corresponding to the curvature of the track.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show yet another continuous casting plant in which two heating stations 33 and 34 are located side by side on the casting platform 3 above the continuously cast strands 7. Two tundish cars 35 and 36 carry tundishes 37 and 38 from the molds 6 to the heating stations 33 and 34. The tundish cars run on tracks 39 and 40 which diverge from a common length of track at the mold to reach the two heating stations 33 and 34 in their side-by-side positions. This method of disposing the heating stations and tracks require a minimum of space on each end of the molds and therefore permits a plurality of such casting machines to be located in close lateral adjacence.

A particularly useful embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. Each tundish car 41 and 42 in this arrangement runs on its own track 45 and 46 extending up to the molds 6 where the tracks run very close to each other in an almost parallel postiion. The tracks 45 and 46 describe a curve of large radius to the heating stations 43 and 44 which are placed closely together at appropriate angles. A track switch is not required. Only the two wheels 47 and 48 on the outsides of the cars 41 and 42 are provided with flanges, whereas the inner wheels 49 and 50 roll flat on the casting platform. .lolts and other troubles at the rail cross-over point 51 can thus be avoided.

The wheels 50 and 47 respectively 48 and 49 of the two tundish cars 42 and 41 are axially asymmetrically offset by the distance a between the two tracks at the mold. This ensures that the outlet orifices of each tundish 52 and 53 in pouring position register exactly with the openings in the molds 6.

Allowance for compensation of this distance a between the tracks can also be made by appropriately positioning the tundishes 52 and 53 on their respective tundish cars.

In continuous casting plants where the hot metal production shop is located to the left of the casting shop 1, the casting machine as shown in FIG. 1 is also moved to the left. In such arrangements the ladles may be rotatably supported by ladle towers which have two horizontal arms and are known in the prior art. The vertical support column of the ladle tower may be so located that the ladle carrying arm which is in stand-by position may extend into the hot metal shop for loading with a full ladle. The tracks 10 of FIG. 2 could therefore be arranged concentrically around the ladle tower column, so that the tundish 12 could always be located below the ladle pouring nozzle. The burners of the heating stations 13 and 14 could be temporarily retracted from the tracks 10 to allow the necessary movements on the track. With such a design the tundish could first be preheated and then filled with molten metal from the filled replacement ladle which is in stand-by position. A worn casting tundish could therefore be replaced by a tundish which is already filled with metal. This is an important advantage for sequence continuous casting.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a continuous casting plant comprising a casting shop, an adjoining separate slide shop, and a separate traveling crane on a separate set or tracks for serving each shop, a casting platform which extends from the casting shop into the side shop, at least one casting mold mounted at a single casting station located on said platform in said casting shop, a plurality of tundish heating stations located on said platform in said side shop, curved tracks mounted on said platform extending from each of said tundish heating stations in said side shop to said single casting station in said casting shop, a plurality of separate wheeled tundish cars, and a tundish mounted on each of said cars, said cars being movable selectively along said tracks in a curved path from one of said tundish heating stations to said casting station and from said casting station to one of said tundish heating stations.

2. A continuous casting plant according to claim 1 in which each track extends in a curved path from tundish heating station to one end of the mold at said casting station.

3. A continuous casting plant according to claim 1 in which the cast strand extending from said mold is curved and in which each track extends in a curved path from a tundish heating station to the side of the mold which forms the inside of the curve of the cast strand.

4. A continuous casting plant according to claim 1 in which each of said curved paths forms the arc of a circle and each tundish car is provided with a swing arm pivoted on said platform at the center of the circle.

5. A continuous casting plant according to claim 1 in which said tundish heating stations are arranged side by side and separate tracks meet at the side of the mold which forms the inside of the curve of the cast strand.

6. A continuous casting plant according to claim 1 in which said tundish heating stations are arranged side by side but are angularly disposed to the side of the mold which forms the inside of the curve of the cast strand.

7. A continuous casting plant according to claim 3 in which the curved paths of the separate tracks meet and coincide at the casting station.

8. A continuous casting plant according to claim 3 in which the curved paths of the separate tracks intersect but remain separated at the casting station.

9. A continuous casting plant according to claim 8 in which said tundish cars are each provided with inside for the separation of the tracks. 

1. In a continuous casting plant comprising a casting shop, an adjoining separate side shop, and a separate traveling crane on a separate set or tracks for serving each shop, a casting platform which extends from the casting shop into the side shop, at least one casting mold mounted at a single casting station located on said platform in said casting shop, a plurality of tundish heating stations located on said platform in said side shop, curved tracks mounted on said platform extending from each of said tundish heating stations in said side shop to said single casting station in said casting shop, a plurality of separate wheeled tundish cars, and a tundish mounted on each of said cars, said cars being movable selectively along said tracks in a curved path from one of said tundish heating stations to said casting station and from said casting station to one of said tundish heating stations.
 2. A continuous casting plant according to claim 1 in which each track extends in a curved path from a tundish heating station to one end of the mold at said casting station.
 3. A continuous casting plant according to claim 1 in which the cast strand extending from said mold is curved and in which each track extends in a curved path from a tundish heating station to the side of the mold which forms the inside of the curve of the cast strand.
 4. A continuous casting plant according to claim 1 in which each of said curved paths forms the arc of a circle and each tundish car is provided with a swing arm pivoted on said platform at the center of the circle.
 5. A continuous casting plant according to claim 1 in which said tundish heating stations are arranged side by side and separate tracks meet at the side of the mold which forms the inside of the curve of the cast strand.
 6. A continuous casting plant according to claim 1 in which said tundish heating stations are arranged side by side but are angularly disposed to the side of the mold which forms the inside of the curve of the cast strand.
 7. A continuous casting plant according to claim 3 in which the curved paths of the separate tracks meet and coincide at the casting station.
 8. A continuous casting plant according to claim 3 in which the curved paths of the separate tracks intersect but remain separated at the casting station.
 9. A continuous casting plant according to claim 8 in which said tundish cars are each provided with inside wheels and outside wheels, the outside wheels being flanged to cooperate with a track rail, and the inside wheels roll on the surface of the platform.
 10. A continuous casting plant according to claim 8 in which the tundishes are offset on their respective cars by a distance sufficient to compensate for the separation of the tracks.
 11. A continuous casting plant according to claim 8 in which wheels of the respective tundish cars are asymetrically offSet by a distance sufficient to compensate for the separation of the tracks. 